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Yeezus and J Cole’s Sinful Ways

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : May 27, 2013
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Category: Music Monday

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JCKW 2

J Cole has slowly become one of the house hold names in rap music, seemingly overnight. But it hasn’t exactly been overnight though considering that he has dropped several mixtapes (including Friday Night Lights, Any Given Sunday, The Warm Up and Truly Yours) before and after his first studio album, Cole World: The Sideline Story. I will say that I haven’t heard all of his mixtapes in their entirety, but some of the tracks are even better than the ones included on Cole World….which was a great album in my opinion.  It’s barely been 2 years since the release of his first official studio release and he’s already gearing up for his new release, Born Sinner. His new single, “Power Trip” featuring Miguel. You can check out J Cole’s performance of “Power Trip” with Miguel below. I will warn you….it is explicit though. And in case you don’t know who Miguel is, he’s the one that landed butt first on a screaming fans neck during his performance of his massive hit, “Adorn”. Hopefully she didn’t incur any massive injuries because of his epic fail…..smh. But I digress, lol.

J. Cole also confirmed that his new CD will feature a collaboration from the legendary TLC on the song “Crooked Smile”. I’ve heard a clip of the song, minus TLC’s part, and it sounds really promising. It’s rumored that Lauryn Hill and Frank Ocean will be on the album as well, but that hasn’t been confirmed or denied yet. In regards to the Born Sinner concept, here’s what J Cole had to say about it… “It’s not necessarily a church theme and it’s not really about church. I like my album themes to be metaphors because it gives me the freedom to speak about something else that’s going on in my life, so the Born Sinner thing is not about church, it’s not even about religion. It’s using that as a canvas to get other messages across and that’s what the album will be.” Very interesting…..so basically, we have no idea on what the album will be about. And it was supposedly J Cole’s very own idea to go head to head with another rap heavy weight…..the almighty Kanye West.

JCKW

Aaaahhhh…the return of Yeezy, Mr. West, Ye or whatever you want to call him. I own every Kanye West CD, but I’m not too sure if I’ll be supporting his most recent release, Yeezus, on June 18th. Yes, you read that correctly. Kanye West’s new CD will be titled Yeezus, not to be confused with Jesus. First Beyonce loses her mind telling the b%$^&#s to bow down and now this. What is the music industry coming to? But you have to give it to him….he’s one artist that knows how to get people’s attention. He performed his song “New Slaves” and another track, “Black Skinhead” on the SNL season finale. That’s millions of viewers alone. Not to mention his worldwide premiere of “New Slaves” projected on 66 different buildings in North America, Europe and Australia.

Artistically, I think Kanye West is so creative that it may be too much for his own good. I don’t doubt that his CD will be great lyrically and musically. But I just think the overall concept is too much to get attention. At what point does the artistry just speak for itself? Knowing Kanye West, I don’t think that he will stick to the June 18th release date either. I have a feeling he may push it up. Or who knows, he may try to flex his musical muscle against J Cole to try to show him who’s really boss. I’ve never heard of any beef between the 2 artists, but who do you think will sell more during the first week of their release? Check out Kanye’s rousing and emotional performance of “Black Skinhead” from the SNL season finale below.

Whose CD do you think will be better? J Cole’s Born Sinner or Kanye’s Yeezus? Oh yeah, then there’s Kelly Rowland’s Talk A Good Game, also set for a June 18th release. May the best man (or woman) win…..

***UPDATE*** 6/3 – J Cole releases “Crooked Smile” with TLC. Check  it out. Would you Bump It or Dump It?

Kelly Rowland’s Dirty Laundry

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : May 13, 2013
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Category: Music Monday

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Kelly Rowland has been everywhere in the last year or so. Hot off the heels of Here I Am, the CD that featured “Motivation”, her most successful single to date, she is back with a new CD, Talk A Good Game. The CD won’t be in stores until June 18th, but she is doing plenty to gear herself up for a high debut on the Billboard charts when it’s finally released. From her successful “Ice” single with Lil Wayne. to the extremely addictive Kisses Down Low and now she’s ready to air some of her “Dirty Laundry”. With “Ice”, I was initially skeptical of the song and wrote it off as an attempt to capture the thunder that was made with “Motivation”. Although “Motivation” is better in my opinion, I must say that “Ice” is a great listen as well. And “Kisses Down Low” is quite arguably the best R & B single to be released by a female artist in recent months. That song and the video are hot and I hope she gets some great success on that one.

Just last week, she teased fans with a 51 second clip of her new single, “Dirty Laundry” which was produced by her boyfriend The Dream. The single will officially be released on iTunes on May 21st. With his track record on hits like Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”, it will be interesting to see what he comes up with for the former Destiny’s Child beauty. Who knows if that pairing is just a strategic partnership, but whatever the case, the couple is milking it for all it’s worth. They recently announced their upcoming Lights Out Tour. It’s right on time for both artists as The Dream is also gearing up for his latest CD, IV Play, set for release on. May 28th. IV Play will also feature a duet with Kelly on the song “Where Have You Been”. With the exception of his first two albums, I think The Dream is much better suited as a songwriter and producer for other artists, rather than being the artist himself. But I’m still curious to hear how his new CD will sound.

It’s no secret that Kelly has also turned up the sex-o-meter on her image lately and looks a lot more voluptuous than she did in her hey day with Destiny’s Child. Hmmm… but possible augmentations aside, there’s no denying that her album artwork for the new CD and slick music video production signals that she’s probably not yearning for a Destiny’s Child reunion any time soon. Plus she looks better than ever. Will you be buying Talk A Good Game when it hits stores on June 18th?

***UPDATE!!!!*** Just heard “Dirty Laundry” and it’s beyond transparent….Kelly opens up about her secret abusive relationship and turning on Beyonce. Check it out!

http://trueexclusives.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Kelly-Rowland-Dirty-Laundry-Radio-Rip.mp3

Fantasia’s Side Effects

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : April 29, 2013
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Category: Music Monday

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Fantasia performs at the Soul Train Awards in Atlanta.

Much like the track of the same name that earned Fantasia her first Grammy Award, the last few years of her life have been what some may call “Bittersweet”. She’s had hit records, starred in The Color Purple on Broadway, lived her life on camera for reality TV, ended a high-profile romance and most shockingly overcame a prescription drug overdose. If Fantasia tells you she’s been there and done that, then you just might be inclined to believe her. After 3 successful albums, she has returned to her first love once again with the new release, Side Effects of You. She’s got a sexier, slimmer image, a new attitude and a new outlook on life. But the question many are wanting to know is just how good is this new music of hers? Well, here’s what I thought of her new album….

First of all, I have to applaud Fantasia (who affectionately refers to herself as ‘Tasia’) for taking a road less traveled with Side Effects of You. She has worked with some of the most well-known songwriters and producers in the music business, including Babyface, Jazze Pha, Missy Elliott and Swizz Beatz. So you would think if it’s not broke don’t fix it, right? Not the case with ‘Tasia’. She opted to scrap the big names (other than a few featured artists- Big K.R.I.T., Tank, Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott) and went with her gut instinct with producer Harmony (a.k.a “H-Money”). He produced all of the album, minus one song , while Fantasia had a hand in penning most of the lyrics. Thankfully, Harmony was able to give Fantasia’s album a versatile enough of sound to where it doesn’t all sound the same.

On “Supernatural Love”, featuring BIG K.R.I.T, she sings of a double minded feeling of a good love that’s also a poisonous love. It’s a good song, not great….but good. Things get better with the reggae tinged production of “Ain’t All Bad” where Fantasia says that falling out of love isn’t that bad after all. She gives herself a pep talk that she will be ok. I could easily see this one being a single and it’s one of the stand outs in my opinion. But the real show stopper of Side Effects of You is the collaboration with Missy Elliot and Kelly Rowland, “Without Me”. Perhaps the most confident and sassy we’ve seen her on record, Fantasia playfully lets an ex know (“You’re blowing up a little/Don’t give a finger in the middle”) that he wouldn’t be anything without her. Kelly and Missy trade verses and tell the same story. This song is sexy, daring, bold and just awesome. In fact it’s so good that it sets a tone that the rest of the album doesn’t quite live up to.   The title track, “Side Effects of You” is perhaps the best song on the CD lyrically as she sings about the side effects that she was unaware of when dealing with a person. She confirmed on the Tom Joyner Morning show that it’s actually not just about relationships, but about the side effects of everyone involved in her life. This one is definitely single worthy too.

‘Tasia’ gets loose towards the midpoint of the CD. On the uptempo, big band cut, “Get It Right”, she yells, “Give the mutha$%^#&*# drummer some!” Ok Tasia….random explicit outburst aside, it’s a pretty good song. And then she pulls what’s easily the biggest make or break move of her entire project. She samples the Whitney Houston classic, “I’m Your Baby Tonight” on the song “Change Your Mind”. How does she pull it off? Surprisingly very well. Although she never really says what she’s changing the guy’s mind from, it’s a great song nonetheless. It may also remind you of Beyonce’s “Hip Hop Star” featuring Big Boi. The CD also has a deluxe version, but I say you’d be better off just getting the regular version. The deluxe songs aren’t stand outs in my opinion (despite the Tank guest feature on “Haunted”).

Side Effects of You is not Fantasia’s best work, but it shows the most growth. In fact, it’s probably the least entertaining for me of all her albums. But, it’s still definitely worth buying because all of her music is above the status quo. My favorite CD of hers is still the self titled Fantasia sophomore project. Kudos to Fantasia (and Tasia) though for following her own path and defying the norm. Side Effects of You should solidify her star status even further and prove she’s really here to stay.

Solange’s Terrible Records

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : January 28, 2013
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Category: Music Monday

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Solange

 

I’ve never paid much attention to Solange musically. Then again, I guess I haven’t paid much attention to her at all. But a few weeks ago, that all changed. In case you didn’t know, she’s the little sister of the iconic juggernaut Beyonce Knowles. Considering Beyonce’s massive success with Destiny’s Child and even larger solo endeavors, one could easily see how Solange could get lost in the sauce so-to-speak. Sure, I heard some of the tracks from her Solo Star and Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams CDs. But none of those tracks grabbed me like the ones on True, her most recent release. The EP consists of only 7 songs, but you can really just let it play from beginning to end.

True opens with the first single “Losing You”, which sounds like a carefully syncopated jungle old school rhythm backed by vocals reminiscent of the 80s. In fact, the entire EP has a fresh, but throwback sound all at once. On the very next track, Solange stays true to her rebellious little sister attitude with the explicitly titled “Some Things Never Seem To F$%^in Work”. Raunchy lyrics aside, this song is an honest and transparent. She cleverly sings “I’ve seen you with the lights off/I’ve seen you and you think you love me/I’ve seen you with your hat off/I’m dreaming of a time you knew me”. In fact, Solange had a very heavy hand in songwriting and producing for the entire EP (and pretty much all the music she’s ever made). In my opinion she’s a more intriguing songwriter than her sister, Beyonce, whom she has also helped pen hits for. “Locked In Closets” opens with a thumping, rousing bass line and contrasts with Solange’s smooth vocal arrangements. As many of the cuts on True, this song speaks of past love experiences gone wrong or the fantasies of how they shoulda, woulda, coulda gone right. And this isn’t a bad thing as “Locked In Closets” is a standout in an EP full of tracks that shine individually.

Ironically, my favorite track on True, “Looks Good With Trouble” is only a minute and a half long. But it’s full of sexiness, beautiful melodies and rebellion (“Hey, little heartache, turn us to the highway/Let’s get into trouble, you make it look good”). There’s got to be a full version of this track somewhere and I need to get my hands on it. The production here is minimal, and should be, as Solange is truly the solo star of this musical galaxy. This song serves as a precursor, that’s slightly better than its successor, to the final cut, “Bad Girls (Verdine Version)”. Here, Solange exudes a deeper confidence than on the rest of True. The music track here is smooth enough to listen to it by itself (as evident from the 35 second intro). She whispers boldly and I’m hazy on the full meaning of this song. But like she sings on the hook, “I can’t tell you what’s wrong” because there’s nothing wrong to find here.

In other Solange news, she recently gave her no holds barred opinion on music blog writers that have criticized Brandy’s latest CD, Two Eleven. “Like you really should know about deep Brandy album cuts before you are giving a “grade” or a “score” to any R&B artist.” I definitely can see the reason for her defense as Two Eleven is one of the best R & B CDs I’ve heard in recent months by far.

What do you think of Solange and her music? Have you checked out True yet? And oh yeah….about that terrible records thing….that’s just the name of the record company releasing the EP. Believe me, True is far from terrible.

Solange True